What Steps Have Been Taken To Remove Encroachments On Banks Of Ganga?: Supreme Court Asks Centre And Bihar

The Supreme Court directed both the State of Bihar and the Union of India to file a status report on the illegal encroachments along the banks of the River Ganga. The Court sought clarity regarding the measures taken by the authorities to remove such encroachments as of the current date, the methods proposed for their removal, and the timeline the authorities intend to follow for completing the process.

The Division Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Vishwanathan remarked, “We would like to know what steps have been taken by the authorities to remove all such encroachments over the banks of river Ganga.”

The Court added, “We would also like to know how many such encroachments are still there as on date on the banks of the river and in what manner authorities propose to remove all such encroachments & within what period of time.”

Advocate on Record Neeraj Kumar Sharma appeared for the Appellant, while Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati represented the Respondents.

A detailed survey was carried out along the banks of the Ganga, from Digha Ghat to Mahatma Gandhi Setu. In each survey map, private or raiyati land is indicated by plots or khesra numbers, while the areas adjacent to the Ganga were not surveyed, likely due to the risk of seasonal flooding. Any unapproved private construction in these areas has been recognized as an encroachment. The key finding of the Balance Measurement Survey Report includes a total of 151 unauthorized constructions, consisting of temporary and permanent structures, which were recognized and recorded.

The Court referred to its earlier orders dated December 16, 2022, and February 2, 2023, which pertained to the identification of unauthorised constructions on the floodplains of river Ganga using geo-mapping and the filing of corresponding survey-based reports. In response to those directions, an affidavit was filed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), primarily dealing with plastic waste management and the adverse environmental impact of plastic dumping on river ecosystems.

However, the Court clarified that the current concern before it was not merely pollution but specifically the issue of encroachments along the banks of river Ganga.

The Bench stated that it wished to have a clearer understanding of the current status of encroachments along the banks of river Ganga. Specifically, it sought to know what steps had been taken to remove these encroachments, how many still remained, and within what timeframe the authorities intended to act.

The Bench remarked, “Before we proceed to issue final directions in this matter, we would like to have a report in this regard by the next date of hearing.”

Accordingly, the Court directed the State of Bihar and Union of India to file their reports before the next date of hearing so that the matter could be proceeded with.

Cause Title: Ashok Kumar Sinha v. Union of India & Ors. (Civil Appeal No 3367 2020)

Appearance

Appellant: Advocate-on-Record Neeraj Kumar Sharma; Advocates Akash Vashishitha, Nidhi Agarwal

Respondents: Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati; AORs Dr. N. Visakamurthy, Gurmeet Singh Makker, Azmat Hayat Amanullah, Manish Kumar, Chandrika Prasad Mishra; Advocates Manisha Chava, Suyash Vyas, Annirudh Sharma-II, Rebecca Mishra, Sagar Chauhan, Santosh Kumar, Advocate Navanjay Mahapatra, Ruchi Kohli, Swarupama Chaturvedi

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